Aquilegia Rose Queen - Columbine

Aquilegia caerulea Rose Queen is one of the most beautiful. It is very hardy and forms a small bushy clump, blooming for several weeks from spring. Its large, slender flowers are fairly deep pink, adorned with long spurs and a small pure white corolla. A short-lived perennial, it self-seeds easily and is easy to grow in any well-drained but moist soil.

Aquilegia caerulea Rose Queen is a pink-flowered selection of the Blue Columbine. The latter is a perennial plant of the Ranunculaceae family native to North America, the emblem of the state of Colorado. This species grows in the mountainous areas of southern Montana to New Mexico and western Idaho and Arizona, from east to west. The Rose Queen variety has a similar upright habit and measures 20 to 60 cm (8 to 24in) tall. From May to June, large pendulous flowers, 6 to 10 cm (2 to 4in) in diameter, appear. They are very elegant with long-horned spurs and bicoloured white and more or less deep pink. Sometimes, a few late plants bloom in autumn. The bluish-green foliage is quite decorative and the cut of the basal leaves gives a feeling of lightness. Flowering reaches its peak after 2 or 3 years. This plant does not live very long, but readily self-seeds in the garden, not always coming true to the parent. Its above-ground, deciduous vegetation is absent in winter.

Aquilegias were cultivated in the flowerbeds of the Middle Ages, and cottage gardens have perpetuated the tradition. Compact, unassuming and charming, they are essential in mixed borders, bringing lightness. They can be planted in many different areas of the garden, taking care to leave a space of 30 cm (12in) around each plant: in the middle of a perennial bed, in a border, at the base of bushes, at the edge of woodland or on a shaded slope. The Rose Queen Columbine is magnificent in cool rock gardens. Pick the flowers when they are just opening to make beautiful bouquets. In flowerbeds, in a 'cottage garden' style, they can be associated with all kinds of perennials, such as Foxgloves, Bleeding Hearts, Bellflowers...